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Biomedical subjects

N W Hooyman

Publications and source records attributed to N W Hooyman.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Does compassion include euthanasia? Physicians' roles in caring for the terminally ill preclude the use of euthanasia.

As technological advances continue to allow physicians to prolong dying patients' lives, healthcare providers face many issues surrounding physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. When a physician performs euthanasia or assists in suicide, he or she is killing the patient. The action can in no way be interpreted as allowing an eventually inevitable death to occur earlier rather than later. The physician is culpable. Physicians play three important roles when caring for terminally ill patients: adviser, friend, and priest. The risks inherent in each of these could create an illusion that performing euthanasia and assisting in suicide are humane and logical options. Finally, physicians should not miss opportunities for grace when caring for dying patients. When physicians convey the diagnosis, when patients express the desire to control the timing of the death, and when patients are feeling sadness and anger, physicians must rise to the occasion to act as friend and minister and to introduce grace and healing to the dying.

Catholicism↗
PubMed1991

Easing the strain. The physician and the long-term care facility should work together to improve patient care.

Numerous regulations, inadequate reimbursement, and poor communication can strain the physician--long-term care facility relationship. Three major roles define the physician's responsibilities in the nursing home: care giver, communicator, and complier. Although the physician's roles in the nursing home may be similar to those in an office practice, they can be complicated by a number of factors. Many professionals, such as the nutritionist, social worker, and pharmacist, care for the nursing home resident. The physician thus loses some control over the patient's care. Communication barriers, such as the nursing home's misinterpretation of federal regulations, can frustrate both the physician and the facility's medical staff. This can lead to suboptimal patient care. Nursing homes must ensure that they keep physicians who treat residents abreast of facility regulations and federal and state guidelines. Although a physician may want to continue providing care to a patient who has entered a long-term care facility, he or she may find it necessary to transfer care to the medical director or house physician. Often the time and distance a physician must travel prohibit the physician from giving patients the high-quality care to which they are entitled.

Caregivers↗
PubMed1989

An ambulatory geriatric evaluation unit in a family geriatric curriculum.

Training in Geriatric Medicine has become increasingly important in the education of family physicians. This paper describes the experience of a community-based Family Medicine residency in developing an ambulatory Geriatric Evaluation Unit (GEU) as part of a comprehensive geriatric curriculum. The experience demonstrates the value of a multidisciplinary team approach, systematic development and integration of additional education activities as effective techniques for training family physicians and ancillary health care providers.

Allied Health Personnel↗